Daniel Wolfram
After a judge ruled that Trump cannot put his own name on the building, he chose to close it down.
The Trump-handpicked board of the Kennedy Center voted on Tuesday to close down the historical venue in Washington D.C. for two years.
Leadership cited structural safety risks and debt.
However, the decision comes immediately after a court ruling prohibited Trump from putting his name on the building.
Battle for the Trump name on the venue
According to the assessment of the Kennedy Center board, a partial ceiling collapse in the main foyer earlier this month is a major danger in keeping the center open.
According to “evidence” in a resolution document by the Kennedy Center’s board of trustees, they “consider the main building to be unsafe for continued occupancy, and anticipate further risk to the public and employees if the building is not immediately closed and renovations begun.”
Legal disputes have stalled the proposed two-year shutdown. Representative Joyce Beatty took action in court. She argued that leaders failed to perform proper due diligence before ordering the closure.
Tempers flare behind closed doors
During a meeting about the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, Donald Trump clashed with Beatty over the shutdown. A source who joined the call told NBC News that Trump engaged in a shouting match with the lawmaker, calling her an obstructionist while she called him unprofessional.
Following the vote, Trump posted online that work will remain paused until courts approve the change. “The closing will take place immediately; however, the Renovation and Reconstruction, which is a very large and complex job, cannot begin until such time as the D.C. Circuit rules on the Board’s approved name,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Beatty went on CNN later that evening to set the record straight on what happened in that meeting. “While I did not support the vote, the others who voted did not vote for the language that he is putting up on Truth Social,” Beatty said to Kaitlan Collins, adding: “Nor did we hear anything about him holding $17 million he was going to put in there or hold it again unlawfully.”
Financial trouble deepens
Court filings also reveal that the venue is arguing the center “is in a dire financial position” after having “exhausted its fiscal resources.”
“The Kennedy Center is in such a precarious fiscal position that it will not be able to support its payroll obligations, nor routine maintenance contracts within a matter of weeks,” the document stated.
Adding to the $17 million that Trump claims he has raised for the Kennedy Center, he also managed to secure $250 million from Congress for the renovation project last year.
And to cast even more doubt on the future of the venue, NBC News reports that the Kennedy Center’s Chief Financial Officer Donna Kauranen resigned on Tuesday after just 18 months on the job.
